She took the job originally out of convenience. Usually, her morning route carries about 10 students and takes about an hour and 40 minutes to complete.

In a typical week, Wirtz will drive about 450 miles, winding her bus through neighborhoods of apartment complexes and luxurious hillside homes, picking up students who attend Simi Valley High School. She is one of about 40 bus drivers who ferry many of the district’s 2,328 children with special needs to school twice a day, five days a week, rain or shine. Tuesday was just another routine morning for the mother of two grown children. When she found out, she let out a little laugh. She had never even heard of National School Bus Driver Appreciation Day. Tuesday was National School Bus Driver Appreciation Day, the one day in the year that the California Department of Education sets aside to recognize the men and women responsible for getting children to and from school safely.īut no fanfare-nothing special at all-greeted Wirtz. We’ll be making good time this morning,” the 15-year Simi Valley resident said, pulling out into the morning glare caused by windows of passing cars on busy E. “Actually, today I’m really early, about five minutes early. 61, and silently ran through her morning vehicle inspection, checking her tires, mirrors, dashboard controls, brakes.Īt 6:45 on the dot, she was on the road and ready to start her day. Tuesday was National School Bus Driver Appreciation Day.At the transit center, the 13- year bus driver grabbed a clipboard from the cab of her yellow Bluebird Micro Bird bus, No. 1- Paula Wirtz, a 13-year bus driver with Simi Valley Unified School District, picks up a group of special education students Tuesday morning en route to Simi Valley High School. These were later used in public transit.SAFETY IS NO. These journeys were made easier in 1807, after the invention of steamboats and motor-powered ships.įurthermore, the industrial revolution led to the development of other modes of trading goods such as the motorway and advanced transport forms.

By the 16th century, boats were replaced by sailing ships to cover large distances across the world. For instance, back in 4000 B.C., people traveled in wooden boats to trade. But the idea of public transport is centuries old. This was the first form of public transport in the world that became functional in Paris.

March 18 is the day chosen because the first bus line, ‘Carrosses à cinq sols,’ was launched on this day in 1662. Therefore, the name of the day was changed to Transit Driver Appreciation Day. The very next year, the idea further evolved and the website also added rail operators to the list. A few years later in 2013, was created in Portland to encourage the day.

Once the concept was pushed on a media platform, the idea simply caught on and was promoted by local transit-oriented blogs in Seattle, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Thomas published a blog post regarding Bus Driver Appreciation Day. This turnover in history occurred in 2009 after Hans Gerwitz and Shannon E. While transit drivers have existed for decades, the day to honor them was not created until much later. History of Transit Driver Appreciation Day

National bus appreciation day 2016